25, May 2012

Eileen Silva Kindig writes: ‘We talk about lack of time…when what we lack is backbone to take responsibility for how we spend it… Instead of coming home, we’re escaping to the office and assembly line to get away from household chores, childcare, and the demands of relationships…work gives us a buzz. Besides money and freedom, it provides the satisfaction of a job well done, an outlet for creativity, breezy, low-demand camaraderie, and intellectual stimulation… All this may be keeping us financially afloat…but the less time we spend with family, the messier our home life gets.’ Time is so precious that God gives it to us a moment at a time. ‘The years…pass quickly, and then we are gone.’ So what will you have to look back on? Hours spent working overtime or hours spent with your loved ones? Kindig recommends: (1) Remember who’s in charge. Manage your time, don’t let it manage you. Think through commitments before you make them. Decide what’s important. The urgent seldom is. (2) Schedule in reverse. Put your real priorities on the calendar first, then add the rest. (3) Drop one thing from your schedule; for example, spending two afternoons less a month volunteering frees you to enjoy lunch with your spouse. (4) Be, rather than do. Think. Pray. Relax in a chair. (5) Get your spouse’s perspective on how you’re spending your time, and what may be stealing it. (6) Be honest about your limitations. You can’t manufacture time; we all get the same amount. (7) Keep a list of your commitments by the phone so you think twice before adding to it.